Psalm 107

Introduction

Psalm 107 is the first psalm in Book 5 of the psalms and it’s a psalm of thanksgiving, where the psalmist calls on God’s people to give thanks to the Lord who delivers us from our sin and misery in this world.

Some of the commentators suggest that the psalm is the answer to the psalmist’s plea at the end of Psalm 106. So, at the end of Psalm 106, the psalmist pleaded with the Lord to save his people and to gather them from the nations where they had been scattered because of their sinful rebellion. And Psalm 107 begins with the psalmist giving thanks to the Lord for redeeming or for delivering his people from the hand of the foe and for gathering them from the lands. So, in Psalm 106 they were still in exile, far away from the Promised Land. In Psalm 107, they have returned from exile. And therefore they should give thanks to the Lord for his kindness to them.

In terms of the structure of the psalm, there’s the call to worship in verses 1 to 3. After that, the rest of the psalm can be divided into two main parts: verses 4 to 32 and verses 33 to 43. The first main part is about how the Lord delivered his people from various troubles and trials. The second main part is about God’s treatment of his people when they obey him and when they disobey him.

Throughout the first main part there are two refrains which are repeated. So, take a look at verse 6 where it says:

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.

Those two lines are repeated in verse 13 and in verse 19 and in verse 28. And now take a look at verse 8 where it says:

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men.

Those two lines are repeated in verse 15 and in verse 21 and in verse 31. So, again and again, God’s people cried to the Lord in their trouble. And he rescued them. And therefore they should give thanks to him for his unfailing love and for his wonderful deeds.

Throughout the psalm the psalmist uses God’s special covenant name to refer to him. That’s LORD in capital letters in our English Bibles and it speaks to us of his commitment to his people. And the Hebrew word translated ‘unfailing love’ is hesed, which is God’s covenant love for his people. It’s his steadfast love, his never-ending love. The Lord our God has bound himself to his people with a promise to love them with a never-ending love. And so, even though he once sent them into exile, he still loved them. And because he loved them, he eventually delivered them from exile and brought them back to the Promised Land. Now they are back in the Promised Land, they need to be careful to walk in his ways.

Verses 1 to 3

Let’s turn to verses 1 to 3 where the psalmist calls on God’s people to give thanks to the Lord. We’re to give thanks to him, because he is good and because his love endures for ever. We’re used to things running out. Our milk runs out and we need to buy more. The petrol in our car is used up and we need to fill it up. Our clothes wear out. But God’s love never runs out. It lasts. It endures.

In verse 2 he refers to the redeemed of the Lord. A similar phrase appears in Isaiah 35 where the prophet writes about a highway from Babylon to the Promised Land. And Isaiah writes about the redeemed who walk on it and the ransomed of the Lord who use the highway to return to the Promised Land. Isaiah was writing about the returning exiles and the psalmist is doing the same.

So, let them say this. That is, let them say that the Lord is good and his love endures for ever. They can say it, because they’ve experienced God’s goodness and love for themselves, because didn’t he redeem them from the hand of the foe and didn’t he gather them from the nations where they had been scattered? They are returning from the east and west and from the north and south. And God’s returning exiles should give thanks to him.

Verses 4 to 32

Verses 4 to 32 are about how the Lord delivered his people from various troubles and trials. So some of them wandered in the wilderness. That’s in verse 4. And they were lost, because they could find no way to a city where they could settle. And they were hungry and thirsty and it seems their lives were ebbing away. And that’s when they cried to their Lord. And the Lord, who had bound himself to them with a promise, heard their cry and he delivered them from their distress by leading them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. And so, they should give thanks to him for his unfailing love and for his wonderful deeds, because he’s the one who satisfies the thirsty and he’s the one who fills the hungry with good things to eat.

And some of them sat in darkness and the deepest gloom. That’s in verse 10. In other words, they were prisoners. And the reason they were prisoners was because they had rebelled against the Lord. Instead of obeying his word, they despised his counsel. And so, to discipline them, he subjected them to bitter labour. And that’s when they cried to their Lord. And the Lord, who had bound himself to them with a promise, heard their cry and he delivered them from their distress by bringing them out of the darkness and gloom of the prison and by breaking the chains that bound them. And so, they should give thanks to him for his unfailing love and for his wonderful deeds, because he’s the one who breaks down the gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron. He’s the one who sets his people free.

And some of them became fools because of their sinful ways and God sent afflictions on them as a result. That’s in verse 17. And therefore they loathed their food and drew near to the gates of death. It seems that the Lord made them ill so that they lost their appetite and grew weak and faint. And that’s when they cried to their Lord. And the Lord, who had bound himself to them with a promise, heard their cry and he delivered them from their distress by sending forth his word to heal them. And therefore he rescued them from death and the grave. And so, they should give thanks to him for his unfailing love and for his wonderful deeds. Let them offer a thanksgiving sacrifice to God. And while they’re offering it, let them tell of his works with songs of joy, declaring to their fellow worshippers what God had done for them.

And some of them faced storms at sea. That’s in verse 23. They went out to sea as merchants and saw the works of God when he stirred up a tempest that lifted up the waves. And the waves carried them in their ship up to the heavens and down to the depths. Up and down and up and down. Their courage melted away and they reeled about the deck like drunken men, unable to walk in a straight line. They were at their wits’ end. And that’s when they cried to their Lord. And the Lord, who had bound himself to them with a promise, heard their cry and he delivered them from their distress by stilling the storm and by guiding them to their haven where they were safe. And so, they should give thanks to him for his unfailing love and for his wonderful deeds. They should exalt the Lord in the assembly of God’s people and praise him before the elders.

Verses 33 to 43

God’s people faced all kinds of troubles and trials. But when they called on the Lord, he heard and answered them. And as a result, they should give thanks to him. That’s what verses 4 to 32 were about.

The second main part is verses 33 to 43 and it has its own pattern moving from curse to blessing to curse to blessing. So, the background to these verses is the covenant which the Lord established with his people at Sinai. At that time, God graciously and freely chose the Israelites as his people and he promised to be their God and to take care of them. And according to the terms of the covenant, he promised that if they walked in his ways, he would fill their lives with good things. However, he also warned that if they turned away from him, he would send trouble into their lives. And he would send trouble into their lives to discipline them, so that they would do what the people did in the first part of today’s passage which is to cry out to him for rescue. The Lord disciplined his wayward people so that they would return to him.

And the psalmist refers to God’s curses in verses 33 and 34 and how he turns rivers into a desert and he turns flowing springs into thirsty ground and he turns fruitful land into a salt waste. God will afflict his people if they disobey him. That was the case before the exile and it remained the case after the exile.

The psalmist then refers to God’s blessings in verses 35 to 38 and how he turns the desert into pools of water and he turns parched land into flowing springs. And he enables his people to settle there and to build cities and to sow fields and to plant vineyards and to harvest crops. He blesses his people and causes them to multiply. That was the case before the exile and it remained the case after the exile.

Then he returns to the curses in verse 39 and 40 and to how their numbers decrease and they were humbled because of oppression and calamity and sorrow. God treats their nobles or their leaders with contempt and makes them wander through a wasteland. God humbles them for their disobedience. That was the case before the exile and it remained the case after the exile.

And then the psalmist returns to God’s blessings in verses 41. God lifts the needy from their affliction and increases their families. That was the case before the exile and it remained the case after the exile.

In verse 42 he says that the upright see and rejoice whereas the wicked shut their mouths. So, the disobedient are silenced because of God’s curses on them, but the obedient rejoice because of God’s blessings on them. That was the case before the exile and it remained the case after the exile.

And since God gives blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience, then whoever is wise should pay attention to this and they should consider the Lord’s steadfast love for his covenant people. That is to say, they should be careful to walk in his ways and to do his will so that we will enjoy his blessings and not his curses.

Conclusion

The first part of the psalm is about how God heard his people when they cried out to him and he delivered them from their distress, even though they were in distress because of their sins and shortcomings. And therefore they should give thanks to him for his unfailing, steadfast love and his wonderful deeds.

The second part of the psalm is about how God sends blessings on his obedient people and curses on his disobedient people. Therefore his people should be careful to walk in his ways and to do his will, because he will discipline them when they sin against him and continue in their sin without turning from it or confessing it.

And that’s still the case today. God still disciplines his people when we continue in sin without turning from it or confessing it. As parents will discipline their wayward children in the hope that they will give up their disobedience, so God disciplines us when we go astray in the hope that we will return to him.

And so, if you go astray, and if God has to discipline you for it, what should you do? You should do as the Israelites did and you should cry out to the Lord in your trouble, because even though you’ve sinned against him, he’s still the Lord your covenant God and his love for you is never-ending. And because he’s your Lord, and because his love for you is never-ending, he will hear you, even though you’ve disobeyed him, and he will deliver you. He’ll deliver you despite your sins and shortcomings.

And God is able to deliver you despite your sins and shortcomings because Christ the Saviour has paid for your sins with his life and he has satisfied the justice of God which was against you; and by the sacrifice of himself on the cross he has made peace for you with God. And so, when you cry out to God to rescue you, he’s willing to help you because he’s your covenant God and his love for you is never-ending. And he’s able to help you, because of Christ the Saviour who has paid for your sins with his life.